JMU and the Lantern Project – the ongoing saga
Back in March 2016, a group of individuals took it upon themselves to step up their campaign to undermine the work of the Lantern Project, and began to spread false information about the project, and the joint study we were involved in with Liverpool John Moores University. The university responded to FOI requests made by the group, informing us that they would not release any information that they regarded could be commercially harmful to the Project. However, a senior member of JMU’s research team, informed the group that we had not informed them that the Lantern Project was funded by the NHS, which was why they had only cleared the study with the university’s ethics committee, rather than also seeking approval from the NHS ethics committee.
Apart from the fact that JMU were always fully aware of the fact that we were part funded by the NHS, the Health Research Authority informed us that NHS ethics committee approval in any case would only have been required if the JMU/LP were being conducted on NHS premises, such as a GP practice or hospital, which, of course was not the case. The authority said if the study was being conducted either at the University’s premises and or the Lantern Project’s premises, then ‘there was no requirement for the NHS ethics committee to be involved’.
Since then, despite repeated attempts to get the university’s Vice Chancellor to explain why their forensic psychology research department issued the letter saying we had misled them, which the documentary evidence we have clearly proves is not the case, the university’s legal department is still ‘investigating’ the matter – two years later!
‘Dear Mr Wilmer,
I write to acknowledge receipt of your e-mail in the Vice-Chancellor’s Office, and to confirm that this has been forwarded to Corporate Communications who are dealing with this matter and will respond to you directly.
Regards,
Sue
Sue Doran
Senior Executive Support Officer to the Vice-Chancellor & Chief Executive
Vice-Chancellor’s Office Liverpool John Moores University
Egerton Court 2 Rodney Street Liverpool L1 2UA
Tel: 0044 (0)151 231 3525
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So, what now? Well, the campaign to undermine the Lantern Project continues, but legal proceedings, which have been issued, and which are ongoing, will eventually enable this and many others elements in the campaign against our charity, including those behind it, to be explored in significant detail, exposing the many false statements that have been published about the project on social media and in the MSM, and, more importantly, the answers to the questions why did theses people choose to attack us in the first place, and what was their motivation?
